The man who gained international attention for opening a private toll road near Bath fears he'll be £25,000 out of pocket - because the route it replaces is due to reopen early.

Bath and North East Somerset Council originally said it would take until Christmas to repair the A431, which suffered a landslip after the winter storms.

Now, however, it's likely to be ready by mid-November. That means Mike Watts, who's spending £300,000 on a toll road around the missing section, won't have enough time to recoup his investment.

The council denies speeding up the work to undermine him. But to add insult to injury Mr Watts has now been sent a £3,000 bill for business rates - even though the council has withheld planning permission.

Work on the A431 near Bath, which is due to re-open on 17 November Credit: ITV News

A businessman who built a £300,000 toll road to bypass roadworks on Kelston Road is on course to make his money back. 62 year old Mike Watts rented an empty field next to the A431 which connects Bristol and Bath and built a 365m bypass. Mike Watts needs to make £60,000 a month to break even and is almost there.

People are coming over the road with beaming faces and I have had letters of support from all over the country.

We are actually on Google Maps now which is brilliant because it means that sat navs are recognising the road now.

But we have managed to hit that 25,000 mark even though the signs for the road on the Gloucestershire side only went up last week, and the signs on the B&NES side haven't gone up yet.